A
Listing Compiled by Andrew Fraknoi (Foothill College)
Version 5.2; January 2012
©
copyright 2012 Andrew Fraknoi (e-mail: fraknoiandrew {at} fhda.edu)
All rights reserved.
This
is a selective list of some short stories and novels that use
more or less accurate science and can be used for teaching or
reinforcing astronomy or physics concepts. I include both traditional
"science-fiction" and (occasionally) more serious fiction
that derives meaning or plot from astronomy or physics ideas.
The titles of short stories are given in quotation marks; only
short stories that have been published in book form or are available
free on the Web are included. While one book source is given for
each short story, note that some of the stories can be found in
other collections as well. (See the Internet Speculative Fiction
Database, cited at the end, for
an easy way to find all the places a particular story has been
published.) The author welcomes suggestions for additions to this
list, especially if your favorite story with good science is left
out.
Davies,
Paul Fireball. 1987, Heinemann. Antimatter micrometeorites
threaten Earth.
Niven,
Larry "Flatlander" in Neutron Star. 1968, Ballantine.
Two explorers find a high-speed protostar and a planet made of
antimatter, passing through the Galaxy.
Baxter,
Stephen "Pilot" in Vacuum Diagrams. 1997, Harper Prism.
Future space travelers hollow out Chiron and use it as a spaceship
to escape invading aliens.
Clarke,
Arthur "Summertime on Icarus" in The Nine Billion
Names of God. 1967, Signet. An astronaut is stranded on Icarus,
the asteroid with the smallest perihelion distance, just as it
is approaching the Sun.
Hoyle,
Fred "Element 79" in Element 79. 1967, New American
Library. An asteroid with significant amount of gold wreaks havoc
with the Earth's economy.
Preuss,
Paul "Small Bodies" in Preiss, Byron, ed. The Planets.
1985, Bantam. A fundamentalist preacher and a scientist find fossils
on an asteroid.
Banville,
John Doctor Copernicus. 1976, Godine. A fictionalized
biography of the astronomer.
Banville,
John Kepler: A Novel. 1981, Godine. Fictionalization of
Kepler's life.
Benford, Gregory “Bow Shock” in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: 24th Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois, ed. (2007, St. Martin’s). A story set at the University of California, Irvine, which shows the daily life of an academic astronomer who eventually makes a startling discovery.
Benford,
Gregory Timescape. 1981, Bantam Spectra. Eater. 2000,
Eos/HarperCollins. Many of the novels of physicist Benford portray
what it is like to be a scientist. In these two books, some of
the astronomer characters are based on real astronomers.
Bezzi,
Tom Hubble Time. 1987, Mercury House. A fictional memoir
of Hubble's life; gets some of the facts wrong, but an intriguing
effort.
Brecht,
Bertold Galileo. A 1938 stage play available alone (Grove
Press) or in many collections; not historically accurate, but
with strong political points to make.
McDevitt,
Jack & Shara, Michael "Lighthouse" in Cryptic:
The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt. (2009, Subterranean
Press) [also on the web at: http://www.webscription.net/chapters/1596061958/1596061958___8.htm]
A story about astronomical discovery told within the frame of
a thesis defense colloquium; what it would be like if an astronomer
discovered the existence of intelligent life out there by means
of modifications they made to astronomical objects.
Stover,
Barrie Lamp at Midnight. 1966, Bantam Books. Revised edition
of a 1942 play about Galileo and his conflict with the Church.
Willis,
Connie "Schwarzschild Radius" in Preiss, Byron &
Fraknoi, Andrew, eds. The Universe. 1987, Bantam. Haunting
story combines episodes from the life of Karl Schwarzschild and
black hole images.
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